Like Father, Not Like Son
by ninjadevil2000
Summary: IWSC: When Draco comes home from his first year at Hogwarts, Lucius blows him off, tired and irritable. But when he tries to apologize for it later, Draco is avoidant and doesn't want to hear any apology. Could a thunderstorm bring them back together?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Malfoys, but owning Malfoy Manor would be really cool.**

**Author's Note: I had so much fun writing this story and wrote it in just a few days! It was awesome and exhilarating. I really really hope you all like this story and please review. It would be appreciated.**

**A big thank you to my friend Liz Jean Tonks for betaing this. **

**Written for IWSC Season 2, Round 1**

**School and Year: Mahoutokoro, Year 3**

**Special Rule: Write about a character you've never written about before: I chose Lucius Malfoy.**

**Theme: Malfoy Manor - I took this theme literally, using it as the setting for the story.**

**Main Prompt: [Pairing] Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy**

**Additional Prompts: [Color] Emerald Green and [Weather] Thunderstorm**

**Word count: 2248**

* * *

As Lucius stepped out of the elegant black fireplace of Malfoy Manor, home from a long day at the Ministry, he was met by a flurry of excitement.

"Father!" a voice said excitedly. "Father, I'm so glad you're home! I want to tell you everything! About Hogwarts and what I learned and –"

"Draco!" Lucius snapped, harsher than he'd meant to.

Draco silenced immediately and withdrew his arms from around his father's waist, looking crestfallen.

It was only now that Lucius remembered Draco was home from his first year at Hogwarts today; Narcissa had asked Lucius to go with her to King's Cross that morning, but he'd said no, saying he had too much work to do and needed to get to the Ministry.

"Father, don't you want to hear about my year at Hogwarts?" Draco asked. Lucius saw his son bite his lip, and he could tell that the boy was trying to keep his voice calm so as not to be snapped at again. "I want to tell you all about

my classes and about my friends and –"

"That's enough, Draco," Lucius interrupted again, though this time he was less harsh than before. "I'm very tired, okay? We can talk later."

Lucius strode past his son to the master bedroom, shrugging off his cloak and throwing it onto the bed. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes as he fell backwards onto the mattress.

"What's wrong?" It was Narcissa. Lucius looked over at her. She was leaning against the doorway, looking back at him.

Lucius sighed again. "Oh, nothing," he said offhandedly. But, as he expected, Narcissa came over and sat on the silver comforter with him. She looked at him pointedly. "Really? Because Draco just found me in the garden, upset and hurt because you yelled at him. The first time you see him in six months and you yell at him?"

Lucius sat up. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to _me_, Lucius. Apologize to Draco."

"I'll talk to him later, I promise."

"When?" Narcissa said, clearly irritated. "When, Lucius? During the ten minutes you have at breakfast or the ten minutes you have after dinner? Draco isn't gonna have time to tell you anything because he'll never even see you. _I_ hardly even see you anymore." Narcissa's blue eyes were ablaze with irritation and resentment. "I miss my husband, Lucius. Draco will miss his father. He _has_ missed his father. That's why he wants to share everything with you. You're his role model, his hero. He looks up to you."

Lucius looked away from her. She was right, and he knew it, but somehow, knowing it only made him feel worse.

"It's just – he was shouting right when I got home. He ran up to start telling me all about Hogwarts and his first year and everything, and I brushed him off. I didn't mean to be so blunt with him, I just –"

"You just were," Narcissa finished.

Lucius nodded.

Narcissa rubbed his arm, her blue eyes less fiery. "Lucius, I wasn't going to say anything at first, but I think I will now: since you've been working these long hours recently and –"

Lucius opened his mouth but Narcissa held up a finger. "Let me finish. Since you've been working these long hours recently, it's been affecting you. I don't know if you've seen it, but I have. You've been short with everyone recently, me included, and now Draco. I understand that you're tired, but you need to make sure it's not affecting your life with us too much," she finished.

He nodded, and he thought back on some instances these past few weeks and months. Times he had blown off Narcissa, been snappish and irritable with her, not even paying much attention when Narcissa read Draco's letters from Hogwarts aloud.

"You are very beautiful when you talk like that, you know?" he said after a moment.

Narcissa laughed and smiled at him. "Well, isn't that why you married me?"

Lucius laughed at the inside joke. When their marriage had been arranged by their respective fathers, the only thing they'd really seen in each other were their respective looks, but after they were married, they learned a lot about each other. They didn't have many things in common but that was okay for them. They found each other's personalities endearing enough, and after the traumatic events surrounding Narcissa's two miscarriages before being successful with Draco, they were even closer and even more in love. Shared trauma did that, even if it did sound cliche.

Lucius was quiet a moment, thinking, until he said, "What about Draco? What should I say?"

"Just apologize," Narcissa said. "Be honest. He'll understand."

* * *

An hour later, Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco were gathered in the dining room for dinner. Draco was looking at the table solemnly, poking at his food without saying a word. Lucius did the same until Narcissa kicked him under the table, flicking her eyes to their son.

_Go on_, she prompted silently.

Lucius pressed his lips together. "Draco?" he began. The boy continued to look at his plate. "Draco, look at me," Lucius said firmly. The boy looked up, his eyes bearing a hurt expression.

"Draco, I want to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier. That was callous and impolite of me. Do you accept my apology?" Lucius winced inwardly at the words. He didn't like how it sounded – as though he were apologizing to the Minister or a co-worker, not his own son.

Draco sensed it too. All he gave Lucius in response was a half-shrug-half-nod type gesture. Lucius opened his mouth again to reiterate the apology, but before he had the chance, Draco stood up. "Mother, may I be excused?"

Narcissa gave him a reluctant nod. "Yes, you may."

Lucius watched his son leave the table and the dining room, presumably going upstairs to his bedroom.

The father sighed. "Well, that didn't go as planned."

Narcissa frowned. "I'm sorry, darling. Listen, why don't we let the night try and settle this for us, okay? I'm sure by tomorrow Draco will be bouncing up and down again, waiting to tell you everything and will have completely forgotten about what happened."

Lucius nodded. "You're right, of course," he said. Narcissa smiled at him and took a sip of her wine.

"I'm always right," she said with a small smirk.

* * *

But the next day, a Saturday, Draco was still avoidant of his father. He didn't appear downstairs for anything other than meals, choosing to spend his time in the solitude of his bedroom.

After trying to apologize to Draco at breakfast and failing yet again, Lucius had pondered aloud the prospect of working in his study, but Narcissa had shot down that idea. "I told you that you're working too hard, and all you would accomplish by hiding in your office is prove that exact fact," she had said to him.

Lucius had nodded and ended up spending the day with Narcissa. It would've been a most enjoyable day, spending time with his wife, drinking the occasional glass of wine with her, if it weren't for the overhanging sense of guilt and unease he felt at the break between him and his son.

Lucius did try multiple times that day to apologize to Draco, but it seemed that every time he tried to track down his son amidst the many halls and rooms of the manor, Draco would mysteriously disappear.

People who visited Malfoy Manor always commented, albeit offhandedly, at the lack of homeliness and decor the place bore, but to Lucius that was entirely untrue. The home he shared with his wife and son was comfortable and luxurious. The paintings that lined the walls were beautiful and tasteful, chosen by Narcissa who had an exceptional taste in art. The floor was a dark, black mahogany, though it was soft to avoid splinters. The thick curtains draped in front of the windows were an emerald green, as was the velvet sofa, chairs, and tablecloth. Many shades of black and green were displayed in the Manor, but the walls were painted a light grey, keeping the rooms bright, not dark and shadowy like one might expect.

Something that only the inhabitants of the Manor knew, was that there was a massive bay window in the living room, but it was only accessible by Lucius and Narcissa. It was hidden by the casting of a Disillusionment Charm upon a tapestry, but when the charm was lifted, a beautiful bay window was revealed, coupled with a comfortable seating area, stretching the entire length of the wall. The seats were made of a soft velvet like the curtains, emerald green with silver embellishments. Large glass panes stretched across an entire wall that looked out onto a perfectly manicured stretch of lawn, and just under the window grew many of the rosebushes Narcissa had planted with her own hand.

This day, Lucius and Narcissa sat there at the window, talking about themselves and each other, rekindling their romance in a way they hadn't done in a long time, mostly due to Lucius's work.

The couple was still sitting at the bay window that evening, when a thunderstorm started to rage outside. The wind picked up, and the peacocks strutting around the yard ran into their coop as the blue sky was replaced with dark gray clouds. Lucius and Narcissa watched it in silence, deciding to refrain from eating at the dining table. Instead, they had the house-elves bring them an ornate spread of crackers and cheeses as well as another bottle of wine. Narcissa ordered one of the elves to tend to Draco and make sure he had everything he needed, food or otherwise.

As Lucius and Narcissa ate, talking with each other, watching the leaves tumble through the grass and the rain pelt the ground, a small voice reached their ears.

"Mother?" The pair looked over. The lamps built into the wall had been lit a few minutes ago as the light outside had grown darker, and they cast a faint glow onto a small figure. It was Draco, and he was trembling.

_Of course_, Lucius remembered. Draco was afraid of the thunder. He always had been. For a long time, Lucius hadn't seen the point of being afraid of a sound, of something he couldn't control, and he had even punished Draco for being afraid of it. But a few years ago, when Lucius had near threatened Draco to get over his fear, Draco had finally explained the reasons behind his fear to his parents. Then Lucius had softened, touched by the words Draco spoke, regretting having ever punished his son for being afraid of the thunder before.

"It sounds like when Daddy would fight with people downstairs," he had said in his small eight year old voice. "When those people would come over and Mum would take me upstairs where she said they wouldn't bother us. And then Daddy would come upstairs later and be hurt."

Lucius and Narcissa had both melted at that, for they knew what their son was talking about. For about four years after the Dark Lord's downfall, fellow Death Eaters would convene at the Manor. Arguments would be held, voices raised, and many times, wands would be withdrawn.

Now, as the twelve year old boy faced them, clutching a green stuffed snake tightly in his hand, Narcissa held out her arms. "Come here, my darling," she said. Draco, trying to appear strong, walked over to them, slowly and deliberately, but when his mother's arms wrapped around him, his guard fell and he climbed up on the window seat between his parents, leaning against Narcissa. A flash of lightning and boom of thunder sounded, causing Draco to jump and squeeze his mother's hand.

Lucius watched Narcissa kiss their son's hair and hold his hands with her own.

"Draco," he said softly. "Draco, look at me."

The boy looked from the window to his father.

"Draco, I'm very sorry for what happened yesterday. I was tired and irritated, but that's no excuse for how I yelled at you. I _do_ want to hear about your time at Hogwarts and everything you learned. I hope you'll forgive me. You can tell your mother and I all about it now if you like."

Draco's features didn't change for a few moments, as though he was deciding whether or not to forgive his father. But then, his grey eyes flashed with excitement, and as the storm warred with itself outside, rain pounding against the window and lightning crackling, Draco delved into his stories. And all the while, Lucius couldn't help exchange looks with Narcissa, looks that didn't even come close to illustrating how much he loved his son.

* * *

_Epilogue_

Draco Malfoy looked up from his desk as his son's voice reached him. "Scorpius, I'm busy right now, okay? We can talk later." The man looked back down at his papers as he heard his son shuffle away. But, his mind, distracted from his work, started to sift through memories, coming across one day from his childhood that held images of rain and lightning, but also of his parents' smiles and of a tight hug. He smiled to himself and after a moment, dropped the papers.

"Scorpius," he called, standing up and leaving the study. "Scorp, what did you want to tell me about? I want to hear all about it."


End file.
